The father of a nine-year-old boy who brought a gun and bullets to school says the videogames are going in the garbage.

A nine-year-old Florida boy has been sentenced to "home confinement" after being caught with a handgun, a magazine with six rounds, a steak knife and a small sledgehammer. School officials say they discovered the weapons after the boy showed them to three other students, who immediately reported it.

Speaking to WFTV News, the boy's father described him as a "good" and "caring" child, and pointed the finger of blame in the usual direction - but not at the usual games. He said his son brought the weapons to school to emulate "the zombie-slaying game" Minecraft, which he played "every day, for about an hour," and that as a result of the incident, "all those games are going in the garbage."

The good news for all involved is that even if the boy had wanted to go on a shooting spree, he couldn't have done so because, according to the father, the firing pin had been removed from the weapon. Even so, the gun is also "out," although the report isn't clear about whether that means it will be removed from the home or just not left lying around in quite so accessible a location. Either way, it's fortunate that nobody was hurt, and sadly predictable that videogames - and not, you know, wildly irresponsible parenting - would be given the bulk of the blame.

Yeah, I can't tell you how many times I crafted a wood gun, knife, and hammer in Minecraft to kill zombies with because I didn't have the time before sunset to get enough cobblestone to make a rock gun.

GAunderrated:I like how the father demonized him playing minecraft for an hour every day yet no mention of how his 9 year old "caring" son got a hold of a gun and ammo.

They're all good kids until games make them kill. Hell, even Pat Pulling was fond of that one: She claimed her kid was perfectly fine until Dungeons and Dragons made him commit suicide, but then in later speeches said he was running around the backyard barking and three weeks before he died all the family pets were mysteriously torn apart or disemboweled.

thebobmaster:...Minecraft is a zombie-slaying game? That's like saying Call of Duty is about learning the differences between guns. Sure, it is a possible aspect of the game, but a very minor detail nonetheless.

Also, good luck throwing away a game that is only available digitally.

It's no longer PC/XBLA only. You've been able to buy an XBox hardcopy since June 4th (http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Xbox_360_Edition).

Even if he was carrying around the weapons because of Minecraft, I'm sure he would have known only to use them when there was no other option. You don't want to be stuck in the middle of school with a broken knife, let me tell you.

One day one of these parents is actually going to take responsibility for their own child and a roar of astonishment will be heard across the internet. Even if Minecraft were to blame (which it absolutely isn't) it would still be the fault of the parent for allowing their child to come into contact with such a "negative influence". Come on folks, do some damn parenting!

My concern is how he was able to get all that equipment and bring it to school

Actually, SCRATCH THAT. My concern is who was bullying this supposedly caring kid until he decided bringing a gun, knife and sledgehammer to school was a good idea.

Daaaah Whoosh:Even if he was carrying around the weapons because of Minecraft, I'm sure he would have known only to use them when there was no other option. You don't want to be stuck in the middle of school with a broken knife, let me tell you.

Wait.... Minecraft? So not mentioned in the news "report" was the bow and arrow, and 99 cobblestone blocks in his bag too.....

So what the father of the year has just pointed out is that he has NO CLUE what his son is really doing or he would have blamed a game that had some relation to guns. There are no guns in the game he blamed and nobody seems to have noticed this. So what was the kid really playing and for how many hours a day?

*edit*Wait I saw his age so I know it was COD on Xbox 360 and he called me a mother#$@^er F@##^*! N*&$ the other day.

Parents have got to be seen to be doing something I guess... accepting responsibility for their OWN poor decisions is clearly not one of them. But Minecraft, seriously? I mean if it had been COD, then sure, I can see how a 9 year old might be persuaded into thinking guns were fun toys.

aegix drakan:Actually, SCRATCH THAT. My concern is who was bullying this supposedly caring kid until he decided bringing a gun, knife and sledgehammer to school was a good idea.

I'm still trying to figure out how he got out of the house and into the school with a sledgehammer. A knife you can conceal. A gun you can conceal. But a sledgehammer? At nine years old the thing is about as big as he is and half as heavy.

Xan Krieger:Also if the kid was trying to live out Minecraft in real life why didn't he start by chopping down a tree?

rofltehcat:So how did the boy get the gun and the bullets? Shouldn't they be locked up safely, preferably in separate locked containers?

Probably because the parent was a fucking moron. In the US we have laws that outright state where you can place your guns when they are not either on the way to a firing range, having maintenance performed, being used as a means of self defense in the event of home invasion. The laws state that they need to be locked in a fire proof safe. The problem is that some people do not believe in those things, they are morons that make pro-gun owners like me seem like morons as well.

*Captcha Up to 10 Years. Ironically that is the punishment in Massachusetts for buying a gun for someone who legally can not have one. Do so and you will spend about 10 years in Federal Prison.

Shouldnt the boy of brought a bow and arrow and been able to hit a target square in the bullseye from 100 yards?

But yeah, this whole thing is just a dad trying to pass the blame off to video games instead of taking responsibility. I agree with a few of the people in this thread, where did he put the gun that allowed the child to be able to easily get it? To add to that, where did he have it that he needed to keep the firing pin out of it?

Hmm. I like where this is going. Now I can blame Ikari Warriors for the fact that I don't own a yacht. Granted, I've played games all my life but my eyesight is still pretty much perfect (20/15), but I prefer to focus on the negatives, and avoid all personal responsibility.

aegix drakan:Actually, SCRATCH THAT. My concern is who was bullying this supposedly caring kid until he decided bringing a gun, knife and sledgehammer to school was a good idea.

I'm still trying to figure out how he got out of the house and into the school with a sledgehammer. A knife you can conceal. A gun you can conceal. But a sledgehammer? At nine years old the thing is about as big as he is and half as heavy.

Actually a sledgehammer can be quite concealable. I, for instance, have a 2 lb. sledgehammer with a 1 ft handle. I could easily hide that in any backpack I have ever owned. Whether or not I would want to carry it around all day is another matter.

Oh those darn video games, turning our young people into killing machines. Why can't it be like the 70's where people read commie propaganda (disguised as simple comic books) to become killing machines?

Digital Lego made my kid a little shit. It certainly wasn't my bad parenting and the fact I leave a fucking gun and ammo littered around the house where any kid could get his grimy hands on it. No it's them cubes! Turned the fucking kid into a socialist anarchist!

Andy Chalk:He said his son brought the weapons to school to emulate "the zombie-slaying game" Minecraft, which he played "every day, for about an hour," and that as a result of the incident, "all those games are going in the garbage."

How on EARTH could the Father blame Minecraft for his son's behavior? I mean, the usual weak-legged argument about GTA and CoD being a bad influence I can sort of understand, but Minecraft? A game where you build stuff in a super unrealistic pixelated world? Nope, not buying it.

It's perfectly natural for young boys to want to play with combat weapons. I mean when I was a kid me and my brothers/friends used to head out into the woods (had a nice big vacant block) and play ninja turtles or guns or whatever. Or for a more classic example think of the movie A Christmas Story where Ralpie just really wants a BB gun and at one point in the movie he fantasizes that robbers are invading the yard and he chases them off with his fancy new Red Ryder B.B. Gun.

I know it's a sensitive subject with all the school shootings in recent year in the States but its really all sort of ironic how they cling to their guns for the adults yet completely stifle the make-believe gun play for children. Although actually in a weird sort of way it makes perfect sense with America's bi-polar nature. The loud & crazy redneck conservative side makes sure they get to keep their own guns because it's their God given right and enshrined in the constitution to which they are all seasoned scholars, but for the children there's no one to stand in the way as the bleeding heart hippie liberal sissies side of political spectrum have their way in the classroom where every child is a special butterfly and couldn't possibly have any inherent violent tendencies, those must all come from outside influences!

Oh, and in my opinion it makes perfect sense that a kid after playing minecraft would want to make believe playing it, zombie slaying included. So yes Minecraft could be the influence to bring those weapons to school. Rather what I think is the wrong thing here is that the kid had to resort to contraband for make believe play. And of course from a legal perspective the fact that the father didn't seem to keep his handgun properly secure.